


Part 3: A Diamond In The Rough

by omnisan



Series: In Which Matilda Vaanderhuut Is A Badass (But in Fallout 4) [3]
Category: Fallout 4
Genre: Friendship, Loss, other minor character mentions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-07
Updated: 2019-08-07
Packaged: 2020-08-11 03:06:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,018
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20146573
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/omnisan/pseuds/omnisan
Summary: Matilda decides to make the journey to Diamond City with Nate





	1. Chapter 1

It was coming up on a week since Nate had left Sanctuary. His plan was to hit up Lexington for supplies and food for Sanctuary, but when he came back, he had several duffel bags which was more than anyone was expecting. This brought some commotion to Sanctuary early in the morning, but Nate quickly handed the bags off and pulled Preston aside. Seeing this made Mati curious as she walked up to the duo, wondering what was so special and secret that it couldn't be shared with the rest of the people in Sanctuary.

"Good morning, Matilda." Preston said with a smile when he noticed her. "Feeling well?" 

Ever since Preston found her alone in the Red Rocket with a tear-stained face days ago, he tried to keep a closer eye on her. Everyone had to look out for each other now.

"I'm fine, thanks. What's going on?" 

"I went as far South as Cambridge while I was gone." Nate explained. "I found more people." 

"In Cambridge? You didn't bring them back with you?" 

"They didn't want to leave their post." Nate shook his head. "They said they could assist me if I can give them assistance. And I want to help them. I need their help." 

"Hm, I agree. It's a good idea." Preston said.

"Just past Cambridge and over the river is Diamond City. By the sounds of it, there's a lot of people there and probably a place to stay. If I can make it there, I'll be closer to be able to help the people in Cambridge without worrying about getting back here so soon." 

"I understand." Preston said. "There's enough of us here to—"

"I want to come with you." Mati interrupted, earning her the full attention of the two before her. "I feel like I'm useless here. This doesn't feel like a home to me anymore. I don't want to be here." 

Preston was about to speak up, probably to disagree about her comment on uselessness, Mati assumed, but Nate beat him to it.

"It wouldn't be a bad idea to have a partner in case something goes wrong. I can't take you Preston since you need to defend everyone here. You all know each other and can work better together, so I can have Matilda come with me." 

Preston had a look of concern and worry on his face but nodded. "I'll let the others know." 

After he walked off, Nate turned to Mati and told her to get ready. 

"We're leaving right now?" 

"We can probably get to Diamond City by nightfall if we leave soon and make good progress. I don't think there's much you'll need to bring aside from the gun I gave you. I'll go pack some food and water. We'll have to scavenge for more on the way." 

He took off in the same direction as Preston, leaving Mati to stand in the middle of the street confused and questioning if she really wanted to follow Nate now. 

As a former waitress, the walking didn't bother Mati. It was the silence. There were no birds chirping, no hum of electricity, nothing. Nate hadn't said a word either which didn't help. Aside from the external silence, Mati's head was full of noise. She was now finally seeing the changes the bombs had created. More houses in Concord were dilapidated and destroyed and anything living was dead-looking if not already dead or dying. The lack of people was truly eerie. 

"Two hundred years and this is all we got." Mati finally said with a sigh, breaking the silence. 

"It's hard to see things like this." Nate said. "When I first left the vault I was shocked. I still am every time I reach a new location." 

"All of this must be so hard on you, with the world like this… I lost Jonah, but I can't imagine seeing your wife get shot and losing your kid." 

Nate stayed quiet after that. Mati silently cursed herself for being a little too careless on sensitive topics. She knew how rough it was for her just to think about Jonah.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have brought that up." 

"You're just trying to make conversation, I know. It's true though. All of this is a lot to take in. I could care less about how the world looks. All I want is my son back." 

"What's his name?" 

From the corner of her eye, she could see the corners of Nate's mouth turn up at the thought of his son. "Shaun. He wasn't even a year old when we went into the vault." 

Mati was surprised to hear this, especially since she had been imagining a child that was at least five years old. Having a child not even a year old be taken from you had to do some heavy mental damage to someone. It hurt just to know your fiancée was dead, let alone everyone else you knew. But Nate had something, someone, to live for. Mati didn't know why she didn't asphyxiate with everyone else in the cryogenic chambers. Why was she here?

"How long were you engaged?" Nate asked to take the topic away from him.

"Only a couple weeks. I was working at the Red Rocket near home when Jonah proposed. It was the place we first met too." 

"That's sweet." 

It was something Mati would never forget. Similar to the location they were coming up to: Starlight Drive-In. Mati audibly sighed but neither her nor Nate wanted to speak about it. Instead, they stopped for a short water break in the shade of a tree. Even after the bombs, the weather hadn't changed much. It was still hot as could be in the solar noon sun. Mati was starting to sweat in the cobalt blue jumpsuit she wore, but it was the only thing she had. She could roll the sleeves up a little and unzip it somewhat, but it didn't feel any better when they continued walking.

Before long, Mati could see the Super Duper Mart as they approached the outskirts of Lexington. 

"Did you go in there? There might be food and stuff." Mati got low-key excited. 

"No, but I searched the apartments. Let's go in but try not to take long." 

A smile crossed Mati's face as she skipped ahead to enter the building first. With no power, the building was extremely dark, yet she could tell it was quite messy. It looked like almost everything had already been picked over by other looters, but there was still a chance at finding something good left behind. Mati moved in past the registers and began looking around, when she heard strange, almost gurgling noises. It was then she saw what looked like a human, only extremely malnourished and naked. It moved at the speed of light towards her, but she was able to jump out of the way and run back towards Nate at the entrance. 

"Nate!" 

Nate was typing on a terminal next to a protectron, trying to boot it up. He was able to open it's charging dock and set it free with just enough time to pull out his pistol and shoot the ghoul behind Mati. When she got to him, she grabbed onto him in fear of what she saw, now dead a meter or two away. As the protectron ambled about the store, it caught the attention of more ghouls and killed them instantly. 

"What the fuck was that?" Mati asked, still grabbing onto Nate tightly. 

"I probably should've warned you on our way here," Nate began. "Those are ghouls. From what I know they're like zombies. Humans that had too much radiation and turned into what they are now." 

"Jesus Christ." Mati exhaled.

"You can never let your guard down. Always have your weapon on you and ready to use. Anything could happen at any time." 

Her first encounter with ghouls made Mati paranoid there'd be more around every corner, pretending to be dead before they grab her ankles and attack. Needless to say, they didn't spend much time in the Super Duper Mart. All Mati found was a Nuka Cola and some gumdrops which was hardly anything. They still needed to get through the entirety of Cambridge and find their way to Diamond City.


	2. Chapter 2

"Okay, so let me get this straight. The radiation from the bombs didn't just destroy everything we knew, but it transformed living things into monsters?" 

Nate nodded. He figured it would be best to warn Mati about some of the new creatures she'd see to prepare her from getting shocked and hurt.

"Ghouls seem to be common since they were people at one point. Occasionally there are giant roaches and other bugs. The worst thing I've seen is a deathclaw." 

"A what?" 

"It's like a giant reptile with deadly claws to rip you apart and kill you if it doesn't eat you first."

"Oh sounds lovely." Mati said sarcastically with a smile to match. 

"I should also mention there's super mutants. They look like humans but are bigger and green. What else? Giant crabs, giant mole rats…" 

"Thanks, I hate it." 

"You're welcome." Nate smiled. "Look, I can see the bridge." 

The sun was starting to set, so Mati figured it was around seven o'clock. There was still some daylight left, but not much. They needed to get to Diamond City fast, or preferably before nightfall. Thankfully they hadn't run into many enemies, aside from the ghouls in the Super Duper Mart, but of course now that streak would falter. They could see Super Mutants patrolling the bridge, which looked less than safe to cross. 

"Maybe half a dozen. Shouldn't be too bad." 

"Shouldn't be too bad? I've never done this before." Mati whispered in fear of the hulking giants hearing them. 

"Would you rather be a distraction?" 

"Hell no." 

"Then you're going to point and shoot, just like you said before." 

Mati gulped and nodded. The two were able to take cover and wait until they could line up better shots. Looking over at Nate, he held a single grenade in his hands and had a sinister smile on his face. Waiting until there were a few mutants in a group, he pulled the pin and tossed it, taking at least one down and crippling the legs of two more, giving Mati and him an advantage. The other mutants ran towards them with broken boards and sledgehammers but were no match for a wall of bullets. 

"These guys always seem to have decent loot." Nate explained as they walked towards the bodies. "As disgusting as it seems, looting dead bodies is important to keep yourself alive. They might have armor, bullets, medicine, food…" 

"Nuka Cola caps?" Mati interrupted.

"That's even better. The caps are the new currency." 

"So the cash I found at the Red Rocket is useless?" 

"Unfortunately." 

The two finished looting and crossed the bridge. The further they walked into the abandoned and half-destroyed city of buildings, the closer they got to Diamond City. 

"Nate, look." Mati pointed out a diamond shape and arrow painted onto the side of a building. 

Further up the road was a piece of wood with the same diamond and arrow, signaling they were going in the right direction. 

"Come on!" Mati was getting excited again and quickened her steps. 

Until she heard gunshots. Creeping along the side of a building until the corner, she saw two humans fighting more super mutants in a broken apartment building. There was nothing to think about. Mati and Nate had to help them. With a combined effort, the mutants easily fell. Nate sent Mati to loot their bodies while he talked to one of the men after the fight. They were Diamond City guards. 

"Hurry, Matilda!" Nate called out.

Mati stuffed more caps in her bag and grabbed some more ammo. She had basically become a hoarder in just a few days of this new lifestyle. Her search of the apartments wasn't thorough, but getting into Diamond City was more important. Plus, it was nearly dark out. 

"Ugh. Come on, let me in." A woman grumbled at a speaker near the large metal door.

"Diamond City is just on the other side." Nate stated. 

The woman turned around at the sound of Nate's voice, "Oh! You're finally here! The merchants!"

"What?" Mati asked in surprise.

The woman made a gesture and whispered, "Play along." 

"Right. Merchants." Nate agreed.

"You gotta let us in now." The woman said to the speaker again. 

"Okay, fine Piper. Just don't expect it to happen again. I don't want to get fired because of you." 

After a beat, the large door began to open. 

"I owe you guys one. Stop by my place sometime. Publick Occurrences. Oh, and welcome to Diamond City." 

In all honesty, Mati was expecting more, something better. This? The infamous Diamond City? It was no better than the rest of the human communities. Yet, there was electricity, food, shelter, and people continuing their lives and professions, as if unaffected by the bombs. People had given them strange looks as they passed by in their matching blue jumpsuits, but their first priority was to find a place to stay. After asking a child who was running around, quite late, Mati realized, they were pointed in the direction of the Dugout Inn. 

The inn itself appeared to be a pretty popular place with the amount of people in the lobby simply because it also appeared to be a bar. Again, all eyes were on Mati and Nate in an uncomfortable silence. Mati gave everyone else the once-over before leaning against the counter next to Nate to listen in on the negotiating.

"What can I get you to drink?" 

"Oh, we were looking for a room. Two actually." 

"Not my famous moonshine?" 

Nate shook his head but decided to try and stay on the man's good side. "Maybe later." 

"Yefim! They are here for your services!" 

Another man, nearly identical to the first, walked up and was told the situation. The other man walked away to go smoke. 

"There's only one room available. You and your wife will have to make do." 

"No, I'm—"

"That's fine." Nate said. 

Mati gave him a quizzical look as he forked over some caps. One key was handed over. Mati followed him into the room with a giant number 2 painted on the door and waited for the door to close before she said anything. 

"What was that all about?" 

Nate sighed and took a seat in the only chair in the room. "If it bothered you, I'm sorry. It can make negotiation easier sometimes. Besides, we don't know these people and their true intent. It's best not to tell them our life stories right when we meet them." 

Mati pursed her lips in thought. "I suppose you have a point. But what are we supposed to do now? One bed?" 

As much as Mati felt like she could trust Nate, she still didn't really know him. It was weird to sleep next to a stranger, although Nate couldn't be considered a complete stranger. Still weird. 

Nate rubbed his hands across his face. "You can have it. I need to go talk to people. See if anyone can help me find Shaun." 

"I think you need to get some rest first. You haven't stopped since you left Sanctuary a week ago." 

"I need to find my son, Matilda." 

"I know. But you need to rest too. At least give yourself one good day to recharge." 

Nate sighed. They both knew she was right. Nate nodded, more to himself, and took off his bag. 

"We'll have to take turns sleeping then." 

"You sleep first. I'll go check out the rest of Diamond City and get familiar with it." 

"You'll be okay?" 

Mati smiled. "Yes, dad. And by the way, you can call me Mati." 

Before Nate could keep her any longer, she slipped out the door, completely forgetting to take the key from Nate.


	3. Chapter 3

It was definitely dark out now, but there were still some people walking around the city. Coming back the way they came in from, Mati could see the butcher had closed for the night, as well as some other 'stores' if that's what they were being called. A noodle shop sat in the middle of the city with its own robot chef. For a few caps, Mati decided to have a bowl. It was the first real meal she had after coming out of the vault and boy was it delicious. After eating, she explored more of the city, noting the different alleys and locations along the way. 

No one wanted to talk to her, yet they all stared at her like she was a freak. It was then that Mati realized she needed new clothes. The cobalt blue jumpsuit stuck out like a sore thumb. She needed to blend in. Unfortunately and unlike her, all of the shopkeepers had gone to bed, so new clothes would have to wait until morning. Mati was finally starting to feel too tired to just walk around, so she made her way back to the Dugout Inn. 

The lobby was still busy with people, but not as many as she saw earlier. She passed everyone without a second glance and headed towards room number two. Except she couldn't open it. It was at this point she realized Nate had the key with him on the other side of the door. But he was sleeping and Mati didn't want to wake him. He needed to sleep. Instead, Mati went back out to the lobby and found a single chair to sit in. After a while her head started bobbing, on the verge of sleep, so she resituated her bag to use as a pillow, despite the rough and uneven feel of it due to the contents inside. However, she realized this was the best way to keep her things safe while she slept since she couldn't trust anyone. She was already perceived as the weird one here, sleeping in the lobby with a backpack as a pillow wouldn't hurt her image any more. 

"Jonah?" 

"Shh. Go back to sleep." 

Mati barely had the strength to open her eyes in her current state. She was able to note the arms holding her for a moment before laying her down. Mati instinctively reached out, grabbing an arm. However, her body willed her back to sleep and she retracted it, curling up into a ball instead. 

Hours later and finally feeling rested and rejuvenated, Mati woke up to see Nate sitting on the chair on the other side of the room looking at his pip-boy. Mati sat up and rubbed her eyes, still sleepy and slightly confused. Nate heard the springs of the bed creak under her change of position and looked up at her to see a very confused face watching him. 

"Good morning sleepy head." He said. 

"What are you doing here? What am I doing here?" 

"I found you sleeping in the lobby. You forgot to take the key when you left last night." 

"I remember that now." She yawned. 

Nate's voice suddenly went quieter. "You also called for Jonah in your sleep. You thought I was him." 

"Shit, I'm sorry." Mati buried her head in her hands out of embarrassment. "I just miss him a lot." 

"I know." Nate sighed. 

After a moment of unpleasant air, Mati tried to quickly change the topic. "What are you doing with that?" 

"I have a list of people I need to talk to today and I'll probably be out for a while. You should hold onto the key. Go explore or something." 

"What if you need it?" 

"I won't need to come back here until tonight. If I do by some rare chance, I'm sure it'll be easy to find you. After all, were the new people in town." 

"Wait, you're going to be out all day?" Mati jumped out of bed. 

Nate nodded. "Don't wait around for me." 

Although they had been travelling together for a day and Mati spent most of the night exploring alone, she now felt more alone than before. Nate had his own agenda and she was just here for the ride. At least now it was daytime and the shops would be open. Mati knew how she could entertain herself for a few hours, but all day? That might be a challenge. 

First and foremost, Mati wanted to get out of the jumpsuit and into something more casual and comfortable. The store with a bunch of mannequins around the entrance was none other than Fallon's Basement. Upon entering, Mati was greeted by a woman.

"Welcome to Fallon's Basement. I haven't seen your face before, so you must be new. I'll have you know, I will not tolerate lifting. Now that you know that, you're welcome to have a look around." 

And odd way to greet someone, but Mati nodded and explored the store. The woman's eyes watched her every move. Mati began by looking at interesting sunglasses, and picked out some big white-rimmed shades. She spent most of her time looking at clothes, so long that the woman who greeted her got tired of watching her. After a long consideration, Mati decided to buy a letterman jacket with a plain undershirt and jeans. If it were cold she could wear the jacket, otherwise be comfortable in a tee and jeans, which she decided to cuff up later to retain a little bit of style.

"Are you sure you'll have enough caps for this?" That lady leered at her. 

It turned out that Mati did in fact have enough caps for her new outfit. It helped even more that instead of set prices on goods, she could barter for better prices, which is exactly what she did. She ran back to the inn to change out of her jumpsuit and into her new clothes before deciding to check out the other shops. 

Medicine wasn't something she needed at the moment, and meat wasn't something she could just hold onto without eating right away. To her surprise, a salon and plastic surgeon resided in Diamond City among the other merchants. Of course their services were pricey, but Mati had no need for them either. One person sold baseball-related items and had no idea what baseball actually was, but Mati found his enthusiasm uplifting. Other people sold ammo and guns, and other objects. 

One additional purchase Mati made was of a working watch. Perhaps time really was just a concept now, but it was something Mati was all too familiar and comfortable with. It just seemed right to know the time. 

After walking around the city for a while, it caught Mati's attention that there was some sort of lift to what used to be skybox seating, as well as another section of housing units Mati hadn't noticed the previous night. She decided to take a look at the latter area first as it was more easily accessible. Not only was it housing units, Mati learned, but there was also a bar. With nothing better to do, she decided to check it out and maybe have a drink. 

More to Mati's surprise was how clean the place seemed to be. She hadn't seen any other place as clean as this one so far. Yet, people still gave her strange looks as she approached the bar. The clothes didn't help her blend in apparently. 

"Can I get you anything?" The bartender asked.

Mati's eyes were still taking the place in, when she saw the sign. "Colonial Taphouse. Cute." 

"You must be new here." The bartender smiled.

"Isn't it obvious?" Mati asked with a small chuckle.

"Since that's the case, your first drink is on the house. What'll it be?" 

Mati drew a blank, not even sure what kind of drinks were served in post-war Boston these days. When the bartender caught onto her perplexed look, he laughed before listing off some drinks.

"Wait, Nuka Cola? It's still being made?" Mati asked. 

Now it was the bartender's turn to be confused. "Still? Have you been living under a rock? I have to go find this stuff to sell it. But if there's someone making it you must get me in touch with them." 

Mati couldn't give away too much information about herself so she had to play dumb. "Sorry, I must've just confused myself is all." 

"Say, if you're new here, did you buy the home plate?" 

"Excuse me?" 

"As far as I know, home plate was up for sale. It's a pretty decent sized place in this city." 

At this information, Mati became very interested. Home Plate could be her own place, that is, if she wanted to live in Diamond City. This lifestyle seemed to fit her more. She could maybe find some work to do or start her own business. It was at least the most normal lifestyle compared to living in Sanctuary where she felt out of place. 

"If I was interested in purchasing home plate, who do I talk to?" 

"You can take the lift up to Mayor McDonough's office and talk with his secretary Geneva." 

Mati finished off her Nuka Cola, flipping the cap towards the bartender as a tip, "Thanks."


	4. Chapter 4

"I heard there's a house for sale." 

Mati said it as a statement, not a question. Confidence was key. And she wanted the key to the house.

Geneva looked up at Mati, uninterested. "You want to buy home plate?" 

"For the right price." 

"It's 2000 caps. You get to keep everything inside since no one wanted to move things out." 

The price was quite steep, but when Mati heard it was partly furnished, it made sense. However, Mati didn't have anywhere near the caps to pay for it. Not even half. Maybe with Nate's help she could purchase it, but then she'd feel obligated to offer him a place to stay or pay him back. 

"If I come back later, can I make a down payment and pay the rest in monthly sums?" 

Geneva gave her a bewildered look. "I'll think about it." 

This was good to hear. Mati left with a smile, already forming a plan to get more caps. 

Nate said he'd be out all day, talking to people and trying to find answers about his son's kidnapping. Although it was mighty brave of her to even think about it, Mati decided to leave the safety of Diamond City's walls and go explore the outskirts. She was hoping she'd find caps stashes or goods she could sell back in Diamond City. She made sure to load her gun and swallow her fear of the unknown before setting off. 

Like before, there was an eerie feel around the outside of the city: the silence, the stillness. Thankfully Mati didn't encounter any enemies right away, allowing her to explore abandoned buildings and loot for any potential goodies. After checking her new watch and the relative position of the sun, Mati had determined that she had been out for a few hours with not much luck. She found a variety of chems and edible food that was definitely worth hanging onto, but only a cap or two here and there. She had been checking every box and container, under all the beds, even in the corners of room and closet with not much luck.

Until she finally found something. The metal box's contents made sounds as they shifted and could only be one thing. There had to be at least a hundred caps inside the container and Mati's eyes went wide. This was exactly what she was looking for, but she still needed more. She spent what felt like a couple more hours out in the devastation of Boston before deciding to hike it back to Diamond City. She had plans to sell some items that were in decent condition for extra caps, but still allowed herself to get some more noodles that evening for dinner.

"Hey stranger." She smiled, taking a seat next to Nate, surprised he was there in the first place. "Any progress?" 

Nate gestured vaguely as he slurped down some noodles. "Not as much as I hoped for, but something." 

"Something is good."

"I hope you found something to do to keep yourself entertained all day. I see you went shopping." Nate gave her a once over before returning to his bowl.

"I did." 

With a final slurp, Nate finished off his noodles, "I hope you're okay with me sleeping first again. I'm dead tired after today." 

Mati, who had a full mouth of noodles, looked at him wide eyes and held up a finger to ask him to wait before he left. It hardly mattered since she still had the room key with her. 

"I actually wanted to talk to you about something." 

A flash of curiosity crossed Nate's face for the briefest of moments. He waited for Mati to continue. She mentioned her meeting with Geneva and their discussion of the house for sale in the middle of Diamond City. 

"I know there's a lot going on, and I know it's a bit expensive, but I figured it might be a good investment. I also thought going halfsies on it with you would maybe make it more worthwhile in the end?" 

"How much is it?" 

"Two thousand caps. But I asked Geneva if I could do like a down payment with monthly payments or something. She didn't give me a solid answer though." 

Nate hummed. "How much do you have right now?" 

"I went outside of the city today to try and find caps but…I was only able to find a couple hundred." 

Mati frowned. Nate could see how much effort she was putting in to get all the caps for the house. The more he thought about it, the more he believed it was a better investment in the long run. They wouldn't have to bother each other for a key and take turns sleeping like at the inn. It would be a place for storing things away from Sanctuary without fear of theft. There were more benefits than not, but the price was still steep. 

"You couldn't bargain for a better deal?" Nate asked. 

"I tried but she was so adamant about the price." 

"I have some caps on me but not everything. When I stopped back in Sanctuary I put some away. I could go back and—"

Mati shook her head, "No, no, you don't have to go all the way back for caps. I'll just have to keep exploring around I guess." 

"I'll give you most what I have for now so you can count it up. I'll be out again tomorrow for most of the day so I'll try to find more." 

Mati smiled. "Really?" 

"Yeah. A base away from home sounds like a good idea, honestly. Try helping people around town for some caps rewards too." Nate gave her a small smile. "Now I have to ask you to come unlock the door so I can sleep." 

"Oh right." 

Two days later, Mati dropped a tin full of caps on Geneva's desk with a loud clatter. 

"All 2000 caps for you. I'd like the key now please." 

Geneva slowly looked up from the box on her desk to Mati. She was in no hurry, but sighed and handed Mati a set of keys, one for each door. 

"If all the caps aren't here I know where to find you." 

That threat didn't scare Mati for she knew there was exactly 2000 caps inside the tin. She had counted each of them, twice. Mati had traded goods, helped people, and explored more ground surrounding Diamond City to get those hard earned caps for home plate. She was excited to finally have a place to call her own, although she did decide to let Nate stay with her and use it as his own base as he needed. After all, he footed some of the cost of the house. It was the least she could do. 

Mati impatiently waited for the slow-as-ever lift before nearly sprinting across the city to reach her new abode. The key slipped in and unlocked the door with ease, only to reveal darkness, save for a single light. On one side, there was complete emptiness. A staircase led up to a loft with a bed and dresser. Back down and on the other side of the home, the room was filled with miscellaneous items and scrap materials which would come in handy for creating new furnishings. Mati was determined to make this place a proper home. 

Mati discarded trash and mended broken items to the best condition they could be. It wasn't long until she was able to make appropriate storage units for all the extra scraps after she had created a few functional furniture items. In time she knew she would collect more pieces to really make it a home, but for now, it worked.

Mati's thoughts went to Jonah. He would love it here, considering the conditions. Home plate could've been their new home. Together. It didn't take long before that familiar twinge was felt in Mati's heart. She did everything she could to not cry, but the tears still came. She didn't want to cry anymore, she didn't want to miss him. But she did. Only the knock on the door forced her to gather herself. Slowly peering outside, Mati saw Nate and quickly tried to dry her eyes even more. He didn't need to see her like this. It was too late though. 

Nate's neutral face instantly had a look of concern. "You alright?"

Mati nodded. "Just a little emotional, that's all." 

Mati was actually glad to see Nate back safely. However, she also noticed that he came back with another man in the oddly familiar metal armor. Mati couldn't help but to wonder if he had worked for the vault too. Either way, she stepped aside to let them in. 

"Matilda—er, Mati, this is Paladin Danse. I met him and his company in Cambridge." 

"Nice to meet you." Mati said with a small smile.

"Likewise ma'am." 

Paladin Danse's formality threw her off for a second. Mati glanced at Nate for a beat but he gave no indication of his thoughts. 

"Make yourselves comfortable, then. I've just cleaned the place up and got it somewhat looking like a home." 

"If you folks don't mind, I'd rather stay on patrol outside." 

"Sure." Nate said. 

Mati waited until Danse left and the door had closed completely before speaking. "Well he's something else." 

"He's part of a military group called The Brotherhood of Steel. I took on some quests to help him and his troops and he decided to help me look for Shaun." 

"Impressive." Mati's small smile quickly faded. "Does this mean I can't go out with you anymore?"

"Of course not. If you want to come along you can, I won't stop you. But I will leave you behind if you can't keep up." 

That brought the smile back to Mati's face. Over the past few days of travelling and staying with Nate, she learned a lot about him and his general character. In a world where she otherwise felt alone, she knew she could count on him to be a friend. He would help her with anything, on reasonable grounds of course, and she would do the same for him. Furthermore, she didn't know if she could mentally handle being so very alone in her new home, even if it was brand new to her and she was proud of it. Jonah wasn't there anymore, but he constantly plagued her thoughts when she was alone. As horrible as it may have sounded in her head, it really was nice not to think about Jonah for a moment in time, and it was all thanks to Nate. Deep down, Mati believed it was best to continue travelling with Nate. For her.


End file.
